Thill-support.



No. 688,438. Patented Dec. l0, l90l.

' W. l. SCHRYVER.

THILL SUPPORT.

(Application filed Oct. 12, 1901.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT -OFFICE.

WASHINGTON I. SOHRYVER, OF PROPHETSTOWN, ILLINOIS.

THlLL-SUPPORT.

srncrrrcnrroiv formingpart of Letters Patent No. 686,438, dated December 1o, 190i. Application filed October 12; 1901. Serial No. 78 ,493- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WASHINGTON I. SoHRY- VER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Prophetstown, in the county of Whiteside and State of Illinois, have invented anew and useful Thill-Support, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in thill-supports.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of chill-supports and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device adapted to be readily applied to a buggy or other vehicle and capable of supporting the thills in an elevated position when the vehicle is not in use and preparatory to hitching to arrange the thills out of the way and also to prevent a horse from stepping upon them.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which when not in use will be arranged out of the way and which will be positively held in such position to prevent it from being vibrated or ac- '2 5 cidentally thrown upward by the jolting of a vehicle.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated- 3c in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle provided with a thill-support constructed in accordance '5 with this invention, the pivoted bar being arranged in an upright position for supporting the thills. Fig. 2 is an elevation, the pivoted bar being arranged in a horizontal position. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the bracket-plate. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle, illustrating a modification of the invention. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the bracket illustrated in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view illustrating 5 the manner of mounting the clamp.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlugs.

l designates a bracket or plate centrally secured to a spring-bar 2 of the running-gear of a buggy, in which the body (not shown) is hung from the ends of the spring-bar by The plate or bracket, which is the reception of suitable fastening devices.

At one side of the plate or bracket is arranged a lip or flange 4, formed integral with the plate or bracket and serving as a stop fora pivoted bar 5, which is adapted to be swung upward from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that illustrated in Fig. 1 to project it across the path of the cross-bar 6 of the thills '7,

whereby it is adapted to supportthe thills in an elevated position, as shown in Fig. l.

The lip 0r flange 4, which is approximately segmental, is adapted,to limit the swing of the bar 5, which is perforated at its end 8 for the reception of a pivot 9, and the latter, which passes through the bracket or plate, is arranged adjacent to the lip or flange. The end 8 of the bar is preferably rounded, as shown, and the other end of the bar is preferably provided with a suitable head, which may be of ornamental design and which ex tends above the cross-bar of the thills when the latter are elevated. The thills are supported in an elevated position to arrange them out of the way when the buggy or other vehicle is not in use and also to prevent them from being stepped on and broke byan horse when hitching the same to the vehicle. When the pivoted-bar is arranged in a hori zontal position, as illustrated in Fig. 2, it is firmlyheld andis prevented from beingthrown upward accidentally by the jolting of the vehicle by means of a clamp 10, mounted on the bracket or plate and provided with a resilient jaw 11, spaced from the plate or bracket and adapted to frictionally engage the pivoted bar. The clamp 10 is constructed of a single piece of resilient metal which is bent to form a shank 12 and the jaw 11. The jaw 11 is connected with theinner end of the shank 12 by means of a transverse arm or portion which oifsets the jaw from the plate or bracket. The shank 12 is riveted or otherwise secured to the bracket or plate, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The outer end of the jaw is curved outward slightly to form a fiaring mouth to permit the pivoted bar to be readily forced between the clamp and the bracket or plate, and the said clamp is forced outward by this movement sufficiently to cause it to firmly engage the pivoted bar. The pivoted bar is adapted to be readily swung upward from the clamp.

When the body of the buggy is hung from the front spring 13, as illustrated in Fig. ot' the accompanying drawings, the pivoted bar is mounted on the front portion of the hanger 15, which is centrally connected with the spring 13 and which is secured at its ends to the body 17 of the buggy. The hanger 15 is provided at its center with a forwardly-extending plate 18, which is centrally secured to the spring by opposite bolts 19 and 20, which also serve for securing a bracket 21 and a clamp 22 to the plate of the hanger. The bracket 21 is provided with an upwardly-extending ear 23, perforated to receive the pivot 24 of the bar 25, and provided with a rearwardly-extendinglip or flange 26,which forms a stop for limiting the swing of the pivoted bar 25. Thebracket2 i has an arm 27extending lat erally from it and perforated for the reception of the bolt 19. The clamp is provided with a pair of upwardly-extending resilientjaws and is preferably formed of a single piece of resilient material bent upon itself to form a base and extended upward at the back of the base to form the jaws. The pivoted bar25 is adapted to be swung upward to the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 of the accompanyingdrawings,and when itis swung downward to the position shown in full lines in the said figure it is firmly held by the clamp. The base of the clamp is perforated for the reception of the bolt 20, which passes through the plate of the hanger and the upper portion of the spring.

It will be seen that the thill-support is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is adapted to be readily applied to a vehicle, and that it is capable of being readily arranged for use and of being secured in a folded position to prevent it from being accidentally vibrated or thrown upward by the motion of the vehicle.

What I claim is- 1. A device of the class described comprisin g a bracket or support provided with a stop, a bar pivoted to the bracket or support, and arranged to swing upward and downward across the path of the thills and engaging the stop when in an upright position, and a resilient clamp open at the top and arranged to receive and engage the pivoted bar when the latter is swung downward to a horizontal position, said clamp being adapted to automat-v ically engage and release the pivoted bar when the same is swung downward and upward, substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a plate or bracket provided at one side with a lip or flange forming astop, abar pivoted to the bracket or plate and arranged to engage the lip or flange when in an upright position, said bar being adapted to be folded downward to a horizontal position, and a resilient clamp arranged to receive and engage the pivoted bar, whereby the latter is firmly held in a horizontal position, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WASHINGTON I. SOHRYVER.

Witnesses:

W. E. HARRIS, W. F. JOHNSON. 

